Improvement in tubular shafts for clocks



"'(lnited .tatce @sind @twine GILBERT H. BLAKESLEY, OF BRITOL,CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 101,815, dated April 12, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN TUBULAR SHAFTS FOR CLOCKS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letten Patent and making part of thesame I, GILBERT H. BLAKnsnnr, of Bristol, in the county of Hartford andState of Connecticut, have invented'a new and useful Improvement inClock-Sockets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the inode of constructing thc socket or hollowshaft which carries the short hand in clocks, and is designed to producethe same at a 'less cost than has hitherto been done. It may also beapplied to the construction of the socket which carries the alarm-dial.

My invention consists in the employment of solid drawn tubing for themain portion of the socket, and of attaching a collet or other poststhereto, all as hereafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of myinvention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of an alarm-socket; and

Figure 4 a longitudinal section of the same.

To construct these sockets, I rst procure or make what is generallytermed solid drawn tubing,77 which is drawn from a single, round, flatpiece of sheet-metal in the usual manner. It should be made slightlytapering, and of the dcsircd'taper'for the outside of the finishedsocket.

' This tubing is placed on a revolving arbor provided with a small head,and hy the aid of a knerl or small grooved roller, placed with itsgroove opposite the bead ou the arbor, a bead is swaged on one end ofthe tube'which is to forni the socket A. The ragged end of the tnbeiscut off at a proper distance from the bead in any proper manner.

A small collet with a hole drilled or punched in its center, of a propersize to tit the tube at its large end, said hole being slightlycountersunk on the upper side of the collet, and swept out on the underside to admit the bead, is placed upon said tube.

By a suitable tool the open end-of the tube is turned or swaged outwardand over onto the eountersink in the upper side of the collet, as shownin the section, fig. 2, which suiiiciently secures the same to the tube.

It is then placed in a lathe having a line center, whichy fills thecollet end of the tube snugly enough to cause the same to revolve withsaid center.

The small end oi' the tube, which is still solid, revolves in a femalecent-er.

A wheel-tchou, b, is turned on the collet, which is otherwise turnedtrueand round, forming the finished collet B, shown in the drawings.

The outside of the tube or socket A is burnished or brightened, and itssolid end lcut oil', after which the bur, made by cutting off, isremoved, when the socket is ready for use.

The socket has a bearing on its outside in the front plate of theclock,at a point near the bead a, while the center shaft, for carrying thelong pointer, fills its 'inside at the small end, which will sucientlysupport the socket A in place, although the cavity through it istapering.

For alarm-sockets, the tubing is drawn with its sides straight, and oftwo different diameters, as shown in fi 4.

g' he socket A is formed with the bead a, iu manner before described forclock-sockets, while the usual cam, B', (which may also be made of'soliddrawn tubing,) is placed on the socket A', and resting on the bead af.

The alarm dial C is then placed on the end of the socket A', and restingon the end of the body of the cam B', when the end of the socket A isswaged over onto the dial C, thus securing the whole in place.

The tube'can be burnished and its solid end cut olf, and, if desired,can be slit, to adapt it to lit different clocks, when the same is readyvfor use.

Ordinary clock and alarm-sockets are made of castbrass, with a rim castou the large end for the wheeltenon or the cam. A straighthole isdrilled through it lengthwise, after which it is turned into therequired form. As it is ditlicult to drill these castings exactly in thecenter, considerable surplus stock must be allowed for turning ofi". Thedrilling and turning chips from one casting often weigh four or fivetimes as much as the finished sockets.

By my invention the finished socket can be produced at about the priceof the bore casting for the ordinary style.

I claim as my invention- A clock or alarm-socket, consisting of thesolid drawn tube or socket A and the collet B, substantially asdescribed.

Witnesses: G. H. BLAKESLEY.

AUGUsTINE NORTON, H. H. WARNER.

